Special Olympics Kelowna and Telemark Nordic Club will be hosting the Special Olympics Regional Games for skiing and snowshoeing on Saturday February 10, 2018 at Telemark. Sixteen of our skiers and seven snowshoers will compete against athletes from every region of BC. Tracey Melesko and Francis Stanley, both gold medal winners at the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games, will join. This is a small event and will not impact skiing and snowshoeing. The left side of Rabbit trail will be closed for an hour or two during this event.
General
Find the Telemark Snow Gauge Contest
Telemark has a good problem. The four snow gauges are buried. Lots of snow to groom, for great skiing. The first person to tell Ron Earle the depth of the Crystal Rim snow gauge receives two free trail passes. There has been powder on the snowshoe trails for two weeks. Come and get above the clouds.
Where Did the Stadium Gauge Go?
On Friday the stadium gauge was buried. If anyone can find the one on High Country let us know. It is warmer, and there is mucho snow. No events on Saturday afternoon, or Sunday. Come up for some great skiing and snowshoeing. Tickets and rentals are available.
Telemark Developing Top Young X-C Skiers From Across Canada
The new Telemark Post Secondary Program (TPSP) is in it’s first year. Establishing the program — with the help Kelowna Toyota, its main sponsor — is an attempt to address the decline of skiers graduating from high school, but unable to continue competitive racing. The TPSP is providing professional training and allowing athletes from across Canada reach their full athletic and competitive potential for high-level racing. Click here for a Kelowna Now article about the new program.
Telemark Nordic Snowshow Race brought to you by StorageBear
On Sunday February 25, 2018 Telemark will be hosting our first snowshoe race. There will be three courses; 2 kilometer, 4 kilometer and 8 kilometer. This fun / family oriented event will start at the lodge. There will be food and prizes for participants and volunteers afterwards. So grab your snowshoes for some low impact exercise. Click here to sign up for the race. If you are able to volunteer a few hours to help out call Ron at 250 212-0704.
Water Woes
Everything you ever wanted to know about the periodic lack of water at Telemark
Frustrated when we close the washrooms? We might be headed for some rough times for the balance of the season.
First, let me share the design. Then I will explain the problem and what we are doing to mitigate.
Water Works System Design
We have a low-flowrate well. The water is outstanding quality, but unfortunately best-case the current well is only able to sustain 2.5 gallons per minute draw. To put in perspective, that is 2 toilet flushes…
To overcome the peaks we get on Saturdays and on race weekends, we installed a 1200 gallon cistern. This allows the well to continuously pump at a leisurely rate 24/7 to fill the cistern and we have enough water stored to handle 900 toilet flushes.
The Problem
All good, right? No.
After the never-ending drought this summer, our faithful well is no longer able to supply the 2.5 gallons per minute we are used to. In fact, it is barely giving us any water at all at the moment.
Interim Solution
This is what we are doing to work the problem:
- We have installed a low-level alarm in the cistern to tell our staff when we don’t have enough water for the washrooms. When the alarm goes, we have no choice but to close the washrooms to preserve water for the essentials. We will keep the washrooms open as much as possible, but we will not risk a total outage.
- We are bringing in porta-potties for the rest of the season as a temporary measure.
- We are considering trucking in water as-needed to re-fill the cistern. If you know someone who can do this please contact Ron!
Long-term Solution
This summer, we will be looking for a permanent solution. It may require drilling a second well.
Thank you for your tolerance. I hope this helps you understand what we are up against.
Barry
Gareth and Julia
Congratulations to our athletes, Gareth Williams and Julia Ransom who are really making an impact beyond our club. Gareth Williams, who is currently the youngest of 8 male athletes on the Cross Country Canada National Ski team, last week was the top U23 skier at Canadian WJT, automatically qualifying him for the World Junior/U23 Ski Championships in Switzerland.
Julia Ransom is likewise proving she belongs on the Canadian National Biathlon Team having already achieved two top-10 finishes this season racing in Europe on the World Cup circuit. She is currently the top ranked Canadian biathlete and — BREAKING NEWS — has just been selected to the Canadian Olympics team for the Big Show in South Korea next month.
Announcing the First Annual Telemark Nordic Snowshoe Race
On Sunday February 25, 2018 Telemark will be hosting our first snowshoe race. There will be three courses; 2 kilometer, 4 kilometer and 8 kilometer. This fun / family oriented event will start at the lodge. There will be food and prizes for participants and volunteers afterwards. So grab your snowshoes for some low impact exercise. More information about the fun race, as well as how to register, will follow in the next few days. See you there!